James Shea (Trumpet/Flugelhorn)

Starting at the age of 8 with a bugle in his hands, Jim Shea spent his first few years playing with a local drum corps in his hometown of Guelph, Ontario. He received his first trumpet at the age of 13 and continued to play in the local concert and jazz bands. After pursing an academic education at U of G studying Philosophy, Jim travelled extensively for 2 years in the South Pacific. During his travels he busked in major cities throughout Australia supplementing his income while maintaining his trumpet chops. Upon his return to Canada, Jim attended Queens University to study Law where he performed with the University Jazz Ensemble. With that ensemble he attended and performed in the Canadian Jazz Festival in Winnipeg and the Montreal International Jazz Festival–winning a Gold Medal on both occasions. Since arriving in the Toronto area in 1991, Jim has kicked his career into high gear performing in several jazz ensembles and commercial situations as well as numerous musical stage productions. Jim has performed with jazz greats Don Menza, Rob McConnell, Peter Appleyard, Moe Koffman, Al Kay, John McLeod, Pat and John LaBarbara, Terry Clark, Steve Wallace, Jim Galloway and as a member of Ron Collier’s Big Band. While maintaining a busy playing schedule Jim has found time to further pursue his music education and recently completed the Jazz program at Humber College in Toronto. His love for the playing styles of Don Fagerquist, a trumpeter once with the Dave Pell Octet, was the lure to join our group.